Chief Kevin Gallagher joined the Acushnet Fire / Rescue Department as a call firefighter in 1986.  He was hired as a fulltime firefighter in 1995 and was promoted to Chief of Department in 2003.  Chief Gallagher is certified as a Firefighter Level I/II, Fire Officer I, Fire Instructor I and in Hazardous Materials to the Operations Level.  Chief Gallagher is an Emergency Medical Technician – Paramedic.  He is a graduate of the Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program offered by the University of Massachusetts and is an adjunct professor of Fire Science at Bristol Community College.

In December of 2006, Chief Gallagher was awarded the Acushnet VFW Post 7239 "Firefighter Gold Medal Award" and was selected as the Massachusetts Veteran's of Foreign Wars "Firefighter of the Year" for 2006-2007.

Chief Gallagher was elected President of the Southeastern Massachusetts Emergency Medical Services Council (Region 5) for a two-year term beginning in July 2007.  He is a member of the Fire Chief’s Association of Massachusetts’ EMS committee.

Chief Gallagher is the recipient of the Fire Chief's Association of Massachusetts 2007 "President's Award" in recognition of his efforts to change federal policy regarding pandemic influenza vaccine distribution.